As the news of Shankar’s arrest spread, several political leaders and journalists condemned the action.
Published Dec 13, 2025 | 9:40 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 13, 2025 | 9:40 PM
YouTuber Savukku Shankar
Synopsis: Police said Shankar resisted arrest, forcing them to break into the house. Shankar had reportedly insisted that he would open the door only after his lawyers had arrived. However, the police forced their way in around 2 pm, after a prolonged standoff.
The Chennai Police on Saturday, 13 December, arrested YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar from his residence in Adambakkam, Chennai, for allegedly extorting ₹2 lakh from a film producer.
Five members of Shankar’s staff, too, were detained after high drama that saw the police, aided by the fire and rescue services personnel, break into his house and take him into custody.
This was the ninth time that Shankar was arrested after the DMK came to power in 2021. The arrest invited criticism from the Opposition AIADMK and BJP, and even from DMK’s ally, the Congress.
Police said Shankar resisted arrest, forcing them to break into the house. Shankar had reportedly insisted that he would open the door only after his lawyers had arrived. However, the police forced their way in around 2 pm, after a prolonged standoff.
While the police did not make any official statement regarding the arrest, Shankar, in a video, alleged that he was arrested on false charges of extortion.
Shankar alleged the DMK’s hand was behind the entire episode. He made the allegations while getting into the police vehicle.
Following his arrest, searches were also conducted at his residence and office.
As the news of Shankar’s arrest spread, several political leaders and journalists condemned the action.
The AIADMK said in a statement that the Stalin-led government was unleashing state machinery on journalists and media houses that did not favour him. The AIADMK demanded his immediate release.
BJP state president Nainar Nagendran condemned the arrest and described the DMK government as fascist and accused it of throttling freedom of expression.
He questioned the arrest of a journalist and treating him like a terrorist, even as individuals accused of grave crimes were roaming free. Nagendran further stated that the DMK government, attempting to bury freedom of expression in Tamil Nadu, would eventually collapse due to its fascist tendencies.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, whose party is a DMK ally, termed the arrest blatant harassment despite his disagreement with Shankar’s views.
Senior journalist RK Radhakrishnan condemned the arrest in an X post. “I condemn the arrest of my friend and journalist Savukku Shankar. I hope better sense prevails and CM MK Stalin releases him from this illegal and unwarranted arrest,” he said.
Radhakrishnan added that Shankar might be the journalist or YouTuber who has been arrested the maximum number of times in Tamil Nadu. “That is the extent of the repression unleashed against him. Is he the only big criminal in Tamil Nadu? This is a question I have, and the Tamil Nadu government must answer it.”
When asked whether Shankar’s arrest was illegal, he said, “There are procedures to be followed while making an arrest, but whether it is the BJP, the DMK or even a CPI(M) government, none of them follow these procedures. Courts too rarely question this.”
He added that Shankar was arrested because of his sharp criticism of the government. When asked whether such actions would have electoral repercussions, he said, “There are some police officials who are acting against the DMK government itself, arresting people like Savukku Shankar so that the DMK does not return to power. The DMK government must take note of this.”
Since the DMK came to power in May 2021, Savukku Shankar has been arrested up to nine times, both inside and outside prison.
In September 2022, the Madras High Court sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment for allegedly spreading defamatory content against its judges.
Even before he was released in that case, Shankar was arrested in jail by the cybercrime wing in four additional cases in November 2022.
Later, in May 2024, Shankar was arrested by the Coimbatore cybercrime police for allegedly spreading defamatory remarks against women police personnel.
While he was being taken to Coimbatore following this arrest, the police vehicle met with an accident near Dharapuram, in which Shankar sustained injuries.
In connection with this issue, several police officers from districts including Theni, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Salem and Chennai filed cases against Shankar, with more than 15 cases registered in total.
Around the same time, another case was registered by the Theni police related to 2.5kg of ganja allegedly found in Shankar’s car.
Following this, the Goondas Act was invoked against Shankar.
After nearly four months in prison in this case, the Madras High Court quashed the Goondas Act invoked against him in August 2024.
However, even before his release, in the same month, the Theni district police once again invoked the Goondas Act against Shankar in the ganja case and arrested him.
Challenging this, Shankar’s mother, A Kamala, approached the Supreme Court, which stayed the invocation of the Goondas Act. Based on the Supreme Court’s order, Shankar was released in September 2024.
But once again, on 17 December 2024, Shankar was arrested by the Chennai city police for allegedly failing to appear before the court in the ganja case filed by the Theni police.
While he was in judicial custody, Shankar was again arrested on 20 December after a fresh case was registered against him for allegedly spreading false information about welfare schemes for sanitation workers in Tamil Nadu.
Additionally, the police have carried out formal and informal searches at his office and residence on multiple occasions.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
